ABSTRACT

Background: Persistent pain is a sensation of burning in the arm, anterior chest, and axilla. This pain can persist for several years. The prevalence of persistent pain differs greatly. Several factors are associated with persis¨tent pain after breast cancer surgery including age, body mass index, adjuvant therapy, preoperative pain, and axillary lymph node dissection. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of persistent pain and its risk factors for females after their breast cancer surgery.
Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study performed on 200 female patients who underwent a unilateral mastectomy. A questionnaire via the Internet was used in this study.
Results: In this study, the patients were divided into two groups, where each included 100 patients; the first group involved the patients with pain and the second group included the patients without pain. There was a significant difference (P value = 0.03) regarding radiotherapy as a risk factor.
Conclusion: Radiotherapy was the only significant risk factor for persistent pain after the breast cancer surgery.